Clean-Energy Investments Are Moving Ahead ‘Without Copenhagen’

Clean-energy investments are moving ahead even without an international agreement to limit carbon dioxide, Bloomberg New Energy Finance Chief Executive Officer Michael Liebreich said

Investment last year in wind turbines, solar panels and other technologies that emit little or no CO2 pollutants declined 6 percent last year, Liebreich said today in a television interview at the start of a summit in London.

Negotiators at United Nations talks in Copenhagen in December failed to reach a binding agreement to reduce carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas blamed for contributing to climate change. The world is investing about $150 billion in renewable energy each year, Liebreich said.

“Things are moving ahead without Copenhagen and so it’s not as grim as some people would think,” he said.

National legislation in many countries is encouraging investment in low carbon energy, Liebreich said. The European Union plans to increase the amount of renewable energy to 20 percent by 2020 while pending legislation in the U.S. would reduce greenhouse-gas emissions and boost renewable energy.